Fear the Walking Dead – S1 Ep4 “Not Fade Away”
Fear.
It has taken four episodes for the word that differentiates AMC’s spinoff of The Walking Dead from its predecessor to become realized in the new series. While last week’s episode was filled with zombies and some of the trademark gore that symbolizes The Walking Dead franchise, Fear the Walking Dead has really been a character study in the breakdown of families and society in the face of a pandemic of unknown origin.
Franklin D Roosevelt once uttered the now famous line that the “only thing we have to fear is fear itself”. Well FDR may have been right, but what we tend to fear is the unknown and the unanswered questions that surround Madison, Travis and their families begins to take a very human toll on all involved. Its been nine days since the lights went out and the National Guard has taken over Madison’s and Travis’ neighbourhood, setting up a perimeter fence and creating a safe zone for the residents.
While Travis tries to make the best of their new situation, Madison begins to feel the pressure of the events of the past week and her uncertainty of how to handle things begins to undermine her ability to cope. Madison isn’t the only one on edge. One of her neighbours begins to exhibit strange behaviour worrying his family and the military assigned to their safe zone. The National Guard’s presence does little to alleviate the tension as their decision to operate under “a need to know” policy adds a layer of mystery to their motives and actions. This episode introduces Dr. Bethany Exner (Sandrine Holt) as a doctor working for the government who befriends Liza Ortiz. Dr. Exner asks Liza for help and sets up a transfer for Griselda Salazar to a military facility to have her injured leg surgically repaired.
Last week it was windows, this week it’s the perimeter fence to serve as a constant reminder that the death that lies beyond the safe zone is not that far away at all. The one character that seems to have a handle on his fear is Daniel Salazar, who warns Madison during a quiet moment that “if it happens, it will happen quickly and you must be prepared”. What does he know, and if anything how much? Nothing seems to surprise Daniel, including the events outside of the safe zone, and it will be interesting to see how this plays out in the remaining episodes of Season 1.
